Dividend Income Investorshttps://dividendincomeinvestors.com
"Dividend Income for Life"Fri, 16 Feb 2018 06:56:31 +0000enhourly1http://wordpress.com/https://dividendincomeinvestors.files.wordpress.com/2017/04/cropped-money-tree.jpg?w=32Dividend Income Investorshttps://dividendincomeinvestors.com
3232Will You Have Seven Swans a Swimming this Christmas ?https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/12/20/will-you-have-seven-swans-a-swimming-this-christmas/
https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/12/20/will-you-have-seven-swans-a-swimming-this-christmas/#commentsThu, 21 Dec 2017 03:00:57 +0000http://dividendincomeinvestors.com/?p=4315The Christmas carol the “The Twelve Days of Christmas” receives many articles written on it each year . The vast majority of the articles are written on the topic of “how much would it cost to purchase the Twelve Days of Christmas for your loved ones”. It is usually tied to some loose attempt to measure the inflation for the previous year or the past decades. Maybe the Federal Government should start using this as their official measure of inflation for that year!

I have a different perspective on the song however, in that there is only one day of the song that catches my attention as a Dividend Income Investor. That day is Day Number Seven – A “gift of Seven Swans a Swimming”. For me this one day represents “True Love”.

Okay, for those of you that have not figured out where I am going with this I’ll explain. The term SWANS in investing lingo is an acronym that stands for “Sleep Well At Night”, meaning stocks that you don’t have to worry about.

12 Days of Christmas Lyrics

by Christmas Song

On the first day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
A Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the second day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the third day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fourth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the fifth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the sixth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the seventh day of Christmas my true love sent to me: Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eighth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the ninth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the tenth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the eleventh day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

On the twelfth day of Christmas
my true love sent to me:
12 Drummers Drumming
Eleven Pipers Piping
Ten Lords a Leaping
Nine Ladies Dancing
Eight Maids a Milking
Seven Swans a Swimming
Six Geese a Laying
Five Golden Rings
Four Calling Birds
Three French Hens
Two Turtle Doves
and a Partridge in a Pear Tree

As a Dividend Income Investor I not only want “Swans” but “I want my cake and eat it too”! This means I not only look for Swans but I look for Swans that have a higher than average yield than the majority of stocks.

So keeping in mind the needs of safety and higher yields here are my personal “SWAN” picks that I would love for my true love to give to me on the Seventh Day of Christmas:

Realty Income (O) – Equity REIT

AT&T (T) – Communications/ Entertainment

Main Street Capital (MAIN) – BDC ( Business Development Company)

Preferred Apartment Communities (APTS) – Apartment REIT

Omega Healthcare Investors (OHI) – Medical REIT

Duke Energy (DUK) – Diversified Utility

Lamar Advertising Company -(LAMR) – Billboard REIT

I own all these stocks in my personal portfolios and while prices of course fluctuate with the constant whims of the typical stock market, I know that when I wake up the next day these investments are rock solid and safe.

Almost everyone knows the story of AT&T, while not 100% the same company it was as the old “Ma Bell” in many ways it has evolved into something even better. It is a complete package.

Since its founding in 1969 Realty Income has grown from a single Taco Bell to almost 5,000 properties in 49 of the states and Puerto Rico. It is considered the “gold standard” of Net Lease REITs.

Another company that is considered the “Gold Standard” of its market sector is Main Street Capital a BDC (Business Development Company) which funds businesses that are starting out or growing. When people talk BDCs – the name Main Street always is singled out as the investment to be in.

When you invest in Preferred Apartment Communities you have just become the proud owner of over 31,000 multi-family units located in over 20 U.S. markets. There is no question in my mind of the viability of the rental housing markets for the foreseeable future. See related article :8 Great Stocks Yielding 8%

Omega Healthcare Investors is another great company. It is poised to take advantage of the ever growing Senior Housing and Assisted Living Facilities market. Baby boomers are a huge potential market. Omega Healthcare Investors has blessed its investors with constant Dividend increases over more than 20 consecutive quarters! See Related Article: In The Spotlight – Omega Healthcare Investors Inc.

When it comes to energy few can compete with Duke Energy. Duke Energy not only provides investors with a top notch Dividend Yield but it is one of the largest power companies in the United States. It has about seven and a half million electric customers, and approximately one and a half million natural gas customers. It produces over 52,000 megawatts of electricity. It has operated for over one hundred and fifty years.

And last but not least is Lamar Advertising Company. Lamar has many forms of advertising but perhaps the best known is its roadside billboards that are found along highways and other media forms located on transit and airports. Lamar has over 325,000 displays and in addition operates over 2,600 digital displays. There is little downside to this business. It has been in operation since 1902 – over one hundred and fifteen years.

Can you see why I sleep well at night? With great investments like these its hard not to. So maybe you should consider asking for these Seven Swans from your true love this Christmas. It will make for a very merry year this coming year and perhaps for many more.

As always be sure to do your own due diligence prior to investing.

Here’s wishing you and yours a very Merry Christmas and a Prosperous New Year !

I hope you enjoyed this article and you will consider following me. I also welcome you sharing your thoughts and comments below.

]]>https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/12/20/will-you-have-seven-swans-a-swimming-this-christmas/feed/1SwansdividendincomeinvestorsIt’s the Most Wonderful Time of Year!https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/11/18/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-year/
https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/11/18/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-year/#respondSat, 18 Nov 2017 12:58:39 +0000http://dividendincomeinvestors.com/?p=6921That’s right – Anticipating that Special dividend from Main Street Capital (MAIN) !

Main Street Capital will pay a special dividend to owners of record as of 19 December 2017 (Ex Dividend December 18) on December 27th this year. The special dividend rate is $.275 per share.

Main Street Capital is a Business Development Company that pays monthly dividends of $.19 per share and in addition historically pays a Special Dividend twice a year once at mid year and once at the end of the year. This marks the 5th year of MAIN paying special dividends of at least $.55 per share in addition to its normal monthly dividends.

MAIN is considered a top notch BDC among investors and is a great investment consideration for those that seek current investment income.

Main Street Capital is currently in two of my portfolios – Should it be in yours ?

Thoughts and comments re always welcome.

]]>https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/11/18/its-the-most-wonderful-time-of-year/feed/0Winter WonderdividendincomeinvestorsNo Need to Own it All !https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/09/11/no-need-to-own-it-all/
https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/09/11/no-need-to-own-it-all/#respondMon, 11 Sep 2017 12:30:25 +0000http://dividendincomeinvestors.com/?p=6839I was reading an article lately about Farmland Partners (FPI). The article was centered around whether or not FPI would be able to cover its future dividends or not because so many of their land leases were being terminated despite the fact that they have a 25% penalty for early termination. One of the commenters on the article stated that maybe people should consider owning (CUT) Guggenheim MSCI Global Timber ETF instead. Get real ! First of all you are paying middle men (which my readers know I despise) and second it has a yield of less than 2% !

This got me to thinking in an entirely different direction. Why would I want to own this REIT sub segment at all ? The fact is there are lots of areas that I shy away from in the markets. Some examples are most Retail, Airline Stocks, Railroad Stocks, Banks, and many others. I avoid these areas because I have learned for various reasons not to trust them as they can be very volatile, subject to high Bankruptcy rates, have below average dividend yields etc.

It seems many investors are in the mindset that in order to be properly diversified you have to own stocks in every single corner or subset of the market. This is not true. My advice is to give as much thought to the types of stocks you are investing in as to which stocks you are investing in. By avoiding segments that are traditionally low performing areas you can help to avoid potential losses in the markets. There are no rules saying you have to buy these stocks just because someone dreamt them up.

While it is wise to invest in a diverse area of stocks it is equally unwise to invest in all areas of the stock market just to be in them. Only invest in areas that you believe will not only pay good dividends abut will continue to thrive. Be selective and cautious about your investments.

If you enjoyed this article please consider following me. You are also invited to share your thoughts in the comment section below.

I know there has been no “official” categorization of Dividend Yield levels so I am taking it upon myself to attempt to give clarity to a subject that quite frankly has irritated me for many years.

As a Dividend Income Investor that invests in high yield stocks it just angers me to read articles that call a stock yielding 2% “high yield” ! Sorry, but it is a just one of those things that is so absurd it makes me angry every time I read something like that. So, in lieu of Anger Management classes I have decided to make up my own “official” chart for the classification of Dividend Stock Yield levels.

Many have asked the following questions :

What is a Normal Yield for a Stock?

What is a High Yield Stock?

What is considered a low yield Stock ?

So here it is:

“Official” Dividend Stock Yield Level Chart:

None Dividend Stock – No Dividend Yield – 0%

Extremely Low Yield Stocks – 0% -.9%

Low Yield Stocks – 1.0% – 1.9%

Normal Yield Stocks – 2.0 % – 3.0%

Moderate Yield Stocks – 3.1 – 4.9%

High Yield Stocks – 5% – 10.9%

Extremely High Yield Stocks – 11% & above

I believe you will find this chart useful in that it gives clarity to the classification of stock dividend yields. So the next time you read an author that states that a yield of 2.5% is “high Yield” please feel free to promptly correct them and refer them to this “official” dividend yield chart!

As always we ask for your comments, and so that you always have access to our official dividend yield chart above please consider following me – you’ll be glad you did !

Wow ! Wouldn’t that be a nice Headline !

I’m not usually one to predict where the DOW will be because for me I know that as a Dividend Income Investor its more about the journey than the destination. But as I see how the world economics are playing out I can see this happening very soon. In fact I am going out on a limb and predict that the we will see DOW 30,000 by 31 December 2018. That would represent a 30% gain from where we are today.

Impossible you say ? Well looking back in History you will find that in the early 1900’s the DOW made the following total returns:

1904 – 41%

1905 – 38%

1908 – 46%

1915 – 81%

1933 – 66%

I Would I have loved to been invested back then !

Of course things have slowed considerably in modern times as the market has matured but even going back to as recent as 1995 the DOW gained 33.5% followed in 1996 and 1997 by a 26% gain and a 22.6% gain respectively.

So my prediction may sound ridiculous to many but history shows it is not out that far out there. The question is what will drive a 30% gain in the next 16 months?

In my opinion the market, while in some areas is clearly over valued there are many that are still under valued. Corporate earnings have been great this year and the world stage is setting itself up for an economic boom to occur. Many investors are buying International stocks in anticipation of great performance outside the United States but I believe they forget that many of our companies operate on a global basis. I believe along with the weakened dollar these companies will see record profits in the coming months and of course will lead to great gains in the market. The only question is – Will you be the one sitting on the sidelines?

Please fell free to comment below. And hey – if you like reading please consider following me. The more the merrier!

Some are Richer than Others !

Here’s Why !

Here’s a fictional story about three individuals. Mr Regular, Mr. Knowledgeable and Mr. Fancy Dancy. The story is entirely fictional yet I believe many will believe it is someone they know, perhaps even about themselves.

Let’s consider two Millionaires – A regular old Millionaire (Let’s call him “Mr Regular”) that has a Fancy Dancy Stock Broker at some Fancy Dancy Brokerage Firm making his Investment decisions for him ( Let’s call him “Mr. Fancy Dancy”) and a another millionaire who is a Dividend Income Investor ( Let’s call him Mr. Knowledgeable).

Mr. Regular is a busy guy, He has done well in life and has set aside a portion of his income for retirement. Mr. Regular always thought of investing in the stock market a risky venture and decided early on that he best leave that the Mr. Fancy Dancy at the Fancy Dancy Brokerage firm to do that for him. After all, how could Mr. Regular ever expect to find the time to learn about investing, it is a really complicated venture and if done incorrectly he could end up losing all his money and have nothing to retire with.

Having accumulated just at a million dollars just before his retirement has left him feeling very good about his keen foresight of hiring Mr. Fancy Dancy of the “Fancy Dancy Brokerage Firm, to handle his financial affairs. That is he was feeling very good about his decision until his latest visit with Mr. Fancy Dancy only a month before he officially retires. The first thing his old buddy Mr. Fancy Dancy tells him is about the “4% rule”. Most studies come to the conclusion you will need to make your money last for at least 30 years and that the maximum you can withdraw each year to last the entire 30 years is 4% of your savings ( adjusted for inflation). So he is told his withdrawal will have to be limited to $40,000 per year in order to last for the expected 30 years of his remaining life. This comes out to $3,300 per month. Added to his $1,500 Social Security this comes out to about $4,800 per month. Not bad considering but Mr. Regular is not happy at all. He was bringing home over $10,000 per month with his job (his salary was $125,000 per year) and now he finds out that he will have to live on half that amount in retirement. Mr. Fancy Dancy explains to Mr. Regular that this is just the way it has to be. He has him in bonds and stocks (chances are 60% equities and 40% bonds) and they are returning about 2.5% in his investments. Mr. Regular is now desperate and is trying to think of ways to reduce his cost of living in order to make ends meet. Possibly selling his beautiful home and moving to a lower cost area, cutting back on expensive hobbies like golf or cutting back on vacations. He is even thinking about working part time then he suddenly finds out that he will lose $1 of his social security for every two dollars he earns over a certain amount so that limits his prospects there also. So Mr. Regular has to make a decision, take a drastic cut in his lifestyle or continue working until he has much more than one Million saved for retirement. By holding off he can better retire and because he will have a shorter life expectancy at that point he can safely withdraw a little more than 4% , maybe as much as 5%.

As it turns out Mr. Regular is friends with Mr. Knowledgeable. Mr. Regular shares his story with Mr. Knowledgeable. Mr. Knowledgeable tells Mr. Regular his thoughts about Mr. Fancy Dancy at the Fancy Dancy Brokerage Firm. He tell Mr. Regular while Mr Fancy Dancy is a nice guy that the reality is that he is there to make money for himself and that is understandably his primary focus. He further explains to Mr. Regular that he is a Dividend Income Investor (DII). As a Dividend Income Investor he controls his own portfolio and only buys individual stocks. In this manner he immediately earns more on his investments because he cuts out the middle man.

Mr. Knowledgeable continues to explain to Mr. Regular that he too has One Million dollars saved for his retirement, but he has no worries what so ever about maintaining his life style while in retirement and does not limit himself to the 4% rule, is not worried about running out of money even if he lives to be 115 years old. Okay, now Me. Regular is fascinated and asks him to please continue explaining more about his investment philosophy and about Dividend Income Investing.

Mr. Knowledgeable gladly offers to explain the Dividend Income Investing philosophy. First he explains that as previously stated he has one million dollars invested for his retirement. His current yield on cost is 9%, meaning that his returns from his dividend income is $90,000 per year. This equates to $7,500 per month. When he adds this to his Social Security of $1,500 per month his total income in retirement is $9,000 per month. This is only around one thousand dollars a month shy of what he was making at his full time job. Or in other words he is only taking a 10% pay cut by retiring. In addition some of his stocks will increase their dividends from time to time giving Mr. Knowledgeable a hedge against inflation. In the event of a a company announcing a dividend cut ( believe it or not this is a rare event ) Mr. Knowledgeable simply sells that stock and finds a similar yielding stock to replace it.

So what are the mechanics of the Dividend Income Investing?

First buy only Dividend paying stocks.

Never buy stocks below 4% dividend yields.

Try to buy stocks with yields in the 4-11 % yield range.

Identify stocks that are out of favor but are good solid companies that have sound financial fundamentals yet pay higher than usual dividend yields.

Don’t follow the “herd” – when everyone else is running to get out of a stock, that’s the time to start planning your purchase. Recent examples are oil stocks, Retail REITS, Coal stocks, Tobacco stocks. Just because they have become out of favor or socially unacceptable to many doesn’t mean the company will not continue to make money. Use logic and ask yourself basic questions – how many more years will this company be around? Is the market just overreacting to some bad news? Are things really that bad? – Quite often the answer is that everyone is just overreacting. This is when the great buying opportunities present themselves.

Don’t buy Speculative stocks – you know like the next great tech company that will make you rich. 99% of the time you will only get poorer – not rich.

Don’t buy ETFs and Mutual Funds – You are paying dearly for the middlemen.

So is really that easy ? The answer is yes. Of course you have to keep a close eye on your investments and it does take a little work to find stocks that will average a yield of greater than 9% but it is far from impossible. In fact I have managed to do that with my personal portfolios for some time now. I, and many others like me are reaping the rewards of Dividend Income Investing. Follow the advice above, and keep focused on what is important, the Dividend Income!

Your comments are always welcome. Please comment below and also consider following me for more on Dividend Income Investing.

There is no consensus on what constitutes a Market Sector but we are listing the major sectors and sub-sectors of the Stock Market. Market sectors are especially important to investors trying to make sure your portfolio is well diversified. By purchasing stocks from differing sectors you help isolate your portfolio from large losses should a particular sector experience a “bubble” ( a phenomenon that occurs when a particular sector is extremely overbought, usually due to speculators). It is advisable for investors to buy stocks in every major sector of the market if you can, while nothing will help with a general market downturn it can help stabilize your portfolio during turbulent market sector volatility..

Stock Market Sectors with their respective sub-sectors:

Technology Stocks

Internet Stocks

Software & Services

Applications

Networking

Semi Conductors & Microchips

Commodities & Basic Materials

Agriculture& Cattle

Basic Materials

Metals( Aluminum, Gold, Silver , Steel, Copper ..)

Chemicals

Energy

Oil & Gas

Refineries

Pipelines & Storage

Coal

Machinery & Support Services

Healthcare

Pharmaceuticals & Drug Manufacturers

Biotechnology

Medical Appliances & Equipment

Medical Laboratories & Research

Medical Instruments & Supplies

Healthcare Diagnostics

Hospitals

Medical Research

Financials

Banks

Investment Brokerages

Property & Casualty Insurance

Accident & Health Insurance

Life Insurance

Credit Services

Asset Management

Consumer

Discretionary – Leisure & Entertainment…….

Non-Discretionary – Autos, Food,Beverages ……..

Tobacco, Alcohol Products

Industrial

Machinery

Aerospace & Defense

Electric Equiment

Farm Machinery

Lumber & Wood

Small Tools

Telecommunications

Telephone Services

Internet Services

Entertainment Services

Cable TV

Utilities

Electric Utilities

Gas Utilities

Water Utilities

Renewable Utilities

Diversified Utilities

Transportation

Airlines

Railroads

Trucking

Shipping

Services

Entertainment

Home Improvement

Restaurants

Delivery Services

Mail & Internet Orders

Delivery Services

Department Stores

Specialty Stores

Grocery Stores

Casinos

REITS & Real Estate

Agriculture & Land REITS

Data Center REITS

Diversified REITS

Healthcare REITS

Industrial REITS

Infrastructure REITS

Lodging REITS

Office REITS

Retail REITS

Residential REITS

Specialty REITS

Storage REITS

Please Consider Following us , we also love to hear your thoughts and comments.

Multiple Incomes- Exactly what is Multiple Income Streams ? Developing multiple income streams is a way to enhance your present income, help save for the future and provide an “insurance policy” to make sure that if the unthinkable happens you will still have income coming in from various sources.

Why everyone should develop multiple sources of Income for personal Safety

Everyone at one point in their lives look for ways to earn a living. We have compiled an ever growing list of ways to make money, some you know, some will shock you.

The best ways I believe are the “Passive Income” Ways. Invest the money, the time or the expertise and for the most part put it on auto pilot and let the money flow in. Even if you are modestly successful you could potentially provide yourself a decent steady income for the rest of your life.

How many Income Streams should you develop? I recommend developing as many as you can until you are confident that no matter what is thrown at you in life you know that you can always provide for you and your family.

Recently I have turned my efforts to just this, discovering as many possible ways to make money as I can. Recent events have shown me that single sources of incomes for almost anyone can spell gloom and doom. Most people in America although in the recent past felt as though they were secure financially if they had a good paying job, a nice house and a decent savings in an IRA or a 401K etc. But the “Great Recession” that started in 2008 and has lasted through the present has dispelled this myth. Many of us followed all the advice of the so called “Financial Experts” and where did that get us? For many it was disastrous, for others it has postponed or perhaps even cancelled our Retirement plans.

The answer – Well everyone might have a different answer but for me the answer is to have as many different sources of incomes as possible, especially from the “Passive Income” sources. Now one note on “Passive Income” as you read on you will see that some familiar types of investments are included in the “Passive Income” category but use extreme caution here, that’s not to say they are not good passive sources of income but as most know these sources can disappear quickly. A good example is CD’s, they were relatively safe and providing a great source of income for many Americans. As many discovered though the CD rates can go from a great return of say 10% to 1% almost overnight. When we discuss CD’s later on we will explore strategies to help mitigate this radical loss of income.

Why should you actively cultivate multiple sources of income? As explained previously there are many unexpected pitfalls that just beyond your control. Will you wake up one morning with the value of your home cut in half? Will the next economic bubble burst and take you with it? Will the bank or financial institution you entrusted your life savings to suddenly be declared a Ponzi scheme? Who knows but you owe it to yourself to be prepared. Not so much by saving your way to retirement but by ensuring that you have multiple incomes for life. Does this mean you should stop saving for Retirement and personal goals?, absolutely not. Everything the “financial Experts” have taught are true for the most part it’s just that they have left out one of the most important aspects of ensuring your personal financial welfare – your income. Traditional wisdom teaches us to get a good education or to obtain a skill that will get us a great job and provide the income we need. But, Traditional Wisdom is only half the equation in today’s environment. You must go beyond the traditional good job and savings route.

I saw my father work his whole life and save every penny he could only to see it all disappear when my mother fell ill. Now of course he did the right thing and so will the majority of us when face with tragic circumstances , but what if he had cultivated multiple sources of income so that when tragedy fell he not only had the savings to cover the tragedy but the income to keep up his lifestyle?

The whole goal is to never have to worry about the loss of a source of income. After all when it comes to investing all the experts say the key to safety is DIVERSITY and why shouldn’t the same hold true with the most important aspect of your life, your income sources? The idea is to have MULTIPLE sources of income coming in at all times. Doesn’t it make sense to help insure the safety of your family by simply taking the time to set up easy sources of income? No one is asking you to quit your job or to radically change your life just to take a little energy now and devote it to setting up Multiple Income Sources!

I categorize income into three types

Active Income – Active income requires you to show up to work each day and actively participate to earn a salary or income.

Investment Income – Investment Income is a type of Passive Income with a few exceptions like that of Day Traders or active Stock Traders etc. Investment Income can require very little effort on your part but you can devote as little or as much effort into as you wish.

Passive Income – Passive Income requires very little effort on your part once you have set up your business or income system. Passive Income is the Holy Grail of the Multiple Income Sources. A great source of passive income has been made possible by the internet. There are a great number of people making thousands and even millions from things like Blogging, Niche Websites and posting how to or entertaining videos on You Tube. There is no reason why you can’t join in and be a part of it.

The Pitfalls of “ Financial Advisors”

First let me say there are a few great Financial Advisors. These are the exceptions however and while most talk a good talk for the most part they fail to deliver. Financial Advisors basically earn their money in one of two ways and even in both ways in most cases. The first way is they earn commissions from the Funds they steer you to invest in. Now usually they have some really good funds to invest in but I personally am not a big fan of Mutual Funds. Mutual Funds charge you to invest in their portfolios, there can be penalties for withdrawing money too soon, they have requirements that they must meet as directed by their charters such as they have to invest in certain percentages of a certain type of stock or have to hold so much in cash and so on. Mutual Funds rarely beat the overall market on a consistent basis.

The second way is that they charge a fee or percentage of your portfolio for actively managing your account. This can be good as the more your account grows the more money they make. But they can also earn a percentage of your portfolio even when your money drops, so either way they are making money off of yours.

Another way of Investing in Mutual Funds is to buy them directly from a Fund Company like Fidelity. Cut out the middle man so to speak. This can be good for those that don’t mind doing a little homework.

My favorite way to invest in the Stock Market is to buy the funds directly through a company like Charles Schwab. I only buy Dividend paying name brand stocks, that is they must pay a dividend and they must be a company that has a long history of dividends and must be a name I recognize. Examples are Coca Cola, IBM, 3-M, Exxon Mobile, Proctor & Gamble etc.

I buy these stocks ( I recommend at least 15 to start and a goal of 30 stocks in differing sectors like Tech, Communications, Energy, Utilities, etc for safe diversity ) and except for a quarterly review hold them forever. The only way I sell is if I believe that something major will negatively affect the company for a long time or if the products they sell are no longer relevant. An example of a company that has failed to adapt to modern technology for example would be Kodak – once a dominate force in cameras – that has now become obsolete and failed to quickly adapt.

Some potential Income Sources :

Internet Store Sales

Internet revenue from blogs of informational websites

Dividend Stock Income

Investing in Real Estate

Part Time Jobs

Consulting

Turn your hobby into an income

Trading Stocks

Become a “Wheeler & Dealer” bargain, trade and sell for profit

Open a business on the side of your regular job, example : a food or service Franchise ( I do Not recommend retail businesses )

Become a Real Estate agent on the side.

Flip Houses

Weekly or monthly yard sales

open an Ebay or Etsy business

Become a Handyman

Write and sell books/e-books

Teach others how to do what you are an expert at.

As you can see there are many ways to earn extra income but the important thing here is to develop the income sources now before you actually need them. By doing this now you give yourself peace of mind, it will serve as an insurance policy for you and you family and can help you save more money for your future through the extra income generated.

Thoughts or Comments? We love to hear from our readers. Also if you are not already following us please do so.

]]>https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/24/multiple-income-streams/feed/1Income StreamsdividendincomeinvestorsBoost Your Retirement Incomehttps://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/18/boost-your-retirement-income/
https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/18/boost-your-retirement-income/#respondFri, 18 Aug 2017 13:44:49 +0000http://dividendincomeinvestors.com/?p=4136What if I told you that you could Double your Dividend Income for Retirement almost instantly and with almost very little risk beyond what you are presently doing ? Would you be interested?

So you have save for many years and invested in ETFs or Mutual Funds . You feel like you have amassed a real good chunk of money for your retirement but now you are finally retired and you find yourself on a somewhat meager income to fund your retirement. You could just start selling each year to fund your retirement but that still means you are not only living off of savings but each year your income from savings will decline.

Let’s say you are above average and you have reached what you thought would be a comfortable amount for retirement. You have one million dollars to fund your retirement. You have retired at 63 years of age. Congratulations! But now that you have retired you are panicking. Your social security is $1,500 per month and your “Investments” are only provide you with an additional $25,000 per year or about $2,083 per month in income. That’s a combined income of $3,583. Not too bad but that amounts to $43,996 per year. Your working salary was $100,000 a year before retirement so you have to find ways of making due with your new reduced salary.

You could withdraw $60,000 a year to make up the shortfall. Unfortunately that means your retirement fund will be depleted in about twenty years. By 83 years of age you will be out of money and depending solely on your social security.

There is another way ! Why not consider becoming a Dividend Income Investor (DII). Dividend Income Investing means you only (or mainly) invest in individual stocks that have higher than normal dividend yields. While there are no set rules I personally try not to invest in stocks that yields below 5% with the exception being a group of “foundation stocks”. My over all goal is a 9% yield on my portfolios. Yes, it is very achievable and I myself can attest to it. I have done so for many years now.

By converting your Bond Funds, ETFs and Mutual Funds all into individual stocks you are accomplishing a few things that you could not before. You have eliminated the “Middlemen” ( Fund managers) , recurring broker fees and you are now free to invest in companies that meet your goals.

Just maybe you don’t feel comfortable with the 9% – Well okay, even at 6% you have doubled your income.

I know that if you have never managed your own investments it can very very daunting. The investment community has worked hard to convince us that the stock market is so complicated and scary that only they, after you pay them, can invest your money for you. They try to over complicate things even further by trying to convince us that you must have your money invested in several types of investment vehicles to be properly divested. None of this is even remotely true. Why do you have to have a portion invested in foreign stocks for safety when most large American corporations are global? Why do you have to invest in bonds. They say they are “less risky” than stocks but I can find no evidence of this what so ever. Unless they can convince you that you are not capable of purchasing stocks and managing them yourself, they cannot make money. I am here to tell you other wise. Buying stocks is simple.

Please consider following us and reading our articles to learn how to purchase and manage your stock portfolio your self. We try very hard to make our articles not only educational but simple. By keeping things simple more can understand and follow along.

Most of you can at a minimum double your retirement income and a good percentage of you can even triple your retirement income.

]]>https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/18/boost-your-retirement-income/feed/0Retirement IncomedividendincomeinvestorsThree Types of High Yield Stockshttps://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/07/three-types-of-high-yield-stocks/
https://dividendincomeinvestors.com/2017/08/07/three-types-of-high-yield-stocks/#respondMon, 07 Aug 2017 13:00:50 +0000http://dividendincomeinvestors.com/?p=3411Some people are so afraid of High Yield Stocks that they shy away from them. The end result being that they have cost themselves thousands of dollars in potential income.

The thinking goes because most of the blue chips only pay 2-3% in dividend yields and the average for the S&P 500 is around 2.5% that anything beyond that is “High Risk.”

Being prudent and cautious in the investing world is a good trait but come on folks, use a little bit of common sense also ! Why don’t “Blue Chip” stocks pay higher dividends then? The main reason is because these stocks are highly desirable and the demand for the stock drives up the stock price and the higher the stock price, well it cause the yield to decline. Another factor is that these behemoths are for the most part very mature and as such grow slower that the younger, smaller and more nimble companies. There really is no comparison.

There are basically three types of high yielding stocks:

They are in naturally higher yielding sectors. Example of these are REITs, MLPs, or BDCs. All sectors known for paying out higher yields. Other examples are Tobacco stocks, and communication stocks, think Phillip Morris, AT&T, and Verizon.

Stocks that are in sectors that for no reason of their fundamentals have found themselves in an “out of favor” scenario with investors. Now admittedly you may want to take a very close look at these stocks first, but this is where you can usually pick up some bargains and buy stocks at higher yields than normal. An example is when a whole sector of stocks are out of favor for one reason or another. An example is tobacco stocks. At one point everyone thought for sure tobacco was going away but the brave souls that stepped up and purchased the stocks are much wealthier for having the guts to buy them. Another are was the coal stocks, I myself saw 50 to 150% gains on these stocks because everyone convinced themselves that coal stocks were doomed. (And they might be in the very long run, but short term I knew coal could not go away over night) Just a little common sense and you could see how impossible and impracticable it would be to replace coal plants. Things like this takes years and decades to play out.

The third type of high yielding stocks are the ones that are out of favor because of their poor company fundamentals. These of course are the stocks you want to avoid at all costs if you can. Leave the purchasing of these stocks to speculators and gamblers because you will not receive warning before they go bankrupt and rest assure the bigger players will always get out ahead of you and you will be left with nothing but memories.

So in my opinion it is not only okay to seek out higher yields it is highly desirable. Even when I am purchasing “Foundation Stocks” and all things are equal I ALWAYS pick the stock that has the higher yield. Even a quarter or a half a percent can make the world of difference over a long period of time.

When purchasing stocks keep in mind your desired total yield for your portfolio. If you desire a 10% overall yield for your portfolio then seek out stocks that are at or near that yield. But when doing doing keep in mind why is it at that high of a yield. Is it simply because of a sector selloff because there is a temporary factor that is causing the sell off? Is the stock in a normally higher yielding sector such as a BDC (Business Development Company) or a REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust ) ? Or the one you have to be concerned with – because of the companies underlying fundamentals.

So bottom line – I don’t have any qualms about investing in higher yielding stocks but I am very careful and selective about it. It takes a little patience and a little more effort but the reward is certainly worth it. For an example say you have a portfolio producing 3% in income and you can push that up to 6% – well, look at the results:

$100,000 x 3% = $3,000 per year or $250 per month.

If you double that

$100,000 x6% = $6,000 per year or $500 per month.

And triple :

$100,000 x9% = $9,000 per year or $750 per month.

Now which one would serve you better? Personally I would choose the $750 per month in income ! Yet, very few do, because they have the misguided illusion that they will lose their money if they even attempt to invest in higher yielding stocks. In reality it is costing them big time not to invest at least a portion of their portfolios in higher yielding stocks.

I also want to briefly touch on one of the arguments against high yields. Many will argue that the stock cannot possibly sustain that high of a dividend. Well I have been doing this for many years now, and I can attest that most of the stocks I pick do in fact sustain their yields. One of my reasoning’s was that even if a particular stock cut it’s dividend 50% say from 9% to 4.5% it is still a higher yield than the 3% stock ! Sure I have had a few disappointments with my methods but I am not married to the stocks. When a stock disappoints me I simply sell it and replace it with another stocks that has my desired yield. In many cases they are replaced with a yield that is even better than the original stock.

If this seems like something you would like to try for yourself but you are scared then what I would suggest is that you open a brand new brokerage account and use it to experiment with. In this way you can limit your risk and it will give you a clear indication as to whether or not you can make it work for you. I would suggest picking maybe 5 stocks at most in a couple different sectors.